Pet stag butchered by ‘brazen’ poachers
A North Canterbury couple are in shock after their pet stag was slaughtered.
Lisa Bullock said her partner Allan Rhodes called her yesterday morning after making the grizzly discovery of their 12-pointer stag while checking on stock.
‘‘He just said ‘you’d better get round here’. I knew then that something bad had happened. I just couldn’t believe what they’d done. All that was left was a carcass. They’d removed the head, legs and meat, and taken it all with them.
‘‘He was a lovely animal. He would come right up to the house and he loved the sheep. Allan could feed him from his hands,’’ Bullock said.
Bullock believed the poachers came onto their Depot Rd property in Oxford, which is near the Eyre River, through the riverbed, cutting a wire to enter the paddock.
‘‘It’s just gut-wrenching. He was absolutely gorgeous and somebody has come onto our private property and done this – it’s not hunting, it’s absolutely disgusting.’’
The couple are offering a $2000 reward for information leading to a prosecution.
This incident comes just months after another family’s breeding stag was decapitated on their property on Ashley Gorge Rd in Oxford in May.
The poachers took the head, but left the meat. No arrests have been made in that case yet, but inquiries are continuing.
Oxford Constable Aaron Campbell said poaching was an ongoing issue in the area, but this was the first time he had seen anything so bold.
‘‘It is brazen. There are three residential properties in fairly close proximity.
‘‘Also it would have been no quick task to cut up that deer, and from the look of the carcass it would seem they knew exactly what they were doing – there’s a lot of precision involved.’’
Campbell said because the head and neck had been removed there was no bullet, so there was currently little information to go on.
He had recently charged two people with unlawful hunting on Coal Creek Estate near Oxford.
The poachers had gone onto the private property and killed a breeding goat and a red stag.
Campbell said social media and word of mouth helped lead to arrests in that case and he hoped it would help in this one.
‘‘The owners last saw the stag in the paddock at 11am on Saturday and then discovered its remains on Monday morning. So if anyone saw anything during that time or has since heard anything, I would urge them to contact me.’’